


sunset on a rainy day

by TorunnSays412



Series: the sun; the moon; the stars [1]
Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, F/M, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Misunderstandings, spoilers for Dark Phoenix
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-06-25 22:29:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19755049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TorunnSays412/pseuds/TorunnSays412
Summary: "Hey, kid," Alex mumbles, raising a hand in a half wave.Scott sinks down onto the couch next to him. "I have a question.""You can ask me anything.""Are you fucking Logan?"//Alex comes back from the dead. Things are a little weird, but they turn out fine in the end.





	sunset on a rainy day

**Author's Note:**

> Started this on a road trip, finished it in between cleaning shows at work, and now it's here. I love Alex and when he died I was not happy, and after seeing Dark Phoenix this just needed to be written. There may be a sequel eventually, dealing primarily with Jean and Scott, but for now I'm leaving it as it is. Hope you all enjoy!

Scott sits in the garden, head bowed as he breathes quietly. First Alex, then Raven and Jean . . . it feels like he’s lost his family all over again, except one by one and not all at once.

It had been years before Alex and Charles finally scooped him up out of the foster system, bringing him to the mansion to stay, and his brother had grown so much, Scott had barely recognized him. But for the first time, he had been home. It had  _ felt  _ like home again, with his brother’s new patchwork family surrounding them.

And then Alex was  _ gone,  _ trapped in the basement while the fire raged on.

But he had gained Jean, at least, beautiful, wonderful Jean, and he loved her as he had never loved before. The pain of losing Alex for a second time was lessened because she was right there next to him, holding him when he finally broke down in tears, listening as he shared memories nearly forgotten of his childhood, when their parents were still alive and their family was whole.

They didn’t even find a body.

She didn’t tell him it would be okay, that it would be better. “I understand your pain, Scott, I feel it in a way few others have. I know what it’s like. I will always be here for you, as long as you need me to.”

But now he’s lost her, too, and he feels like he’s drowning in a sea too turbulent for him to tread water.

A hand touches his shoulder, gentle as the woman is not, and Ororo sinks down on the bench next to him. She says nothing, and he appreciates her company for the few moments she allows him to.

“Hank is asking for us,” she finally murmurs, “one final meeting before he receives the new students. Confirm the changes in the school.”

“Alright,” he responds, and pushes himself up. He doesn’t offer Ororo a hand up – she’s already standing a few feet away, quick as always. He follows her back into the mansion, and into Charles’ – now Hank’s – office.

The previous headmaster has only been gone a few weeks, but already it feels like years. Scott has been busy drawing up and adapting lesson plans – they had lost teachers after what happened with Jean, and the government, and while it’s safe enough now they refused to come back. They had no choice but to step up and replace them, for all that they weren’t truly qualified to teach.

Scott was teaching geometry and government. Alex would be laughing his ass off if he were here – geometry had been the one subject Scott struggled with the most. Peter is teaching gym and ethics (who trusts Peter with ethics?), Kurt literature and drama, and Ororo economics, as well as algebra. Hank was still teaching science and philosophy, and between them and the remaining teachers they have all the classes covered.

The others are there, sitting around Hank’s desk – sprawled, in Peter’s case. As Scott shuffles in behind Ororo, he closes the door and decides to lean against a bookshelf to stay out of the way. Ororo perches on the arm of Kurt’s chair.

Hank clears his throat, shuffling through papers on his desk. “Alright, let’s get started. Break ends in two days, so you have until then to make any final changes to your lesson plans, but I have gone through and approved everything I have been given,” he says, cutting a glance to Peter, who grins sheepishly.

“I’ll have it back to you tomorrow, but the final thing to do is finalizing the schedule. Classes are set – but we need to tweak the training schedule. The X-Men are still needed, we know this, so we need to be prepared as well as allow graduating students the opportunity to join smoothly. Older students need combat training, younger need help with their mutations. We have a basic schedule, but you all will need to adjust it to fit your own needs – “

A knock on the door interrupts him. Scott frowns, about to answer the door and tell the person on the other side they’re in a meeting, when Hank moves before he can.

Hank opens the door, mouth slightly open, and freezes. The door is only slightly open, and Hank’s body blocks the rest of his view, but whoever is on the other side is freaking Hank out and Scott finally moves forward the few feet to stand behind him, but he can see only a flash of blond hair over Hank’s shoulder that means nothing to him until Hank croaks, “A-Alex?”

“Hey, Bozo,” comes the response, and Scott’s knees feel weak as the voice registers in his head, and he grabs Hank’s shoulder to steady himself as he pushes forward.

“Alex?” he breathes, and his brother smiles at him, older but  _ alive,  _ and Scott’s chest feels tight.

“Hey, kiddo,” Alex says, and Scott falls into his brother’s arms – never mind he’s too old for this, his brother’s alive, he’s  _ alive, where has he been? _

“Alex, how -?” Hank can’t finish the sentence.

“It’s a long story. But I brought someone, if that’s okay?”

Scott pulls away from Alex to glance behind him, and notices the surly man standing in the foyer, glaring at the wall, and he blinks as recognition surges through him.

“That’s –“

“- Logan?” Hank finishes, surprise coloring his voice. The man Jean had saved all those years ago is now standing before them, wearing clothes and clean.

“I hope he’s okay,” she would say every now and then, thinking back to the near feral mutant they had encountered, and Scott had always hummed an agreement to make her happy, although he had never truly wondered what had happened to him. How did he end up with Alex, of all people?

“Like I said. Long story.”

“Everyone,” Hank says, turning to face the room, “if it’s alright with you, I would like to reschedule this meeting for a later date. You’re all free to go.”

Glancing at each other, they take their leave – all but Peter, whose face had gone pale at the sight of Alex. Scott understands. Peter had been wracked with guilt once he realized he had missed Alex, had left him to burn while they watched helplessly from the front lawn.

“I’m so sorry,” he had said, horrified, while Scott could only watch the flames climb higher.

Seeing Alex must be like seeing a literal ghost, and Scott understands. He won’t tell Peter to leave, not as long as he wants to stay. They all need answers.

Hank goes back to his desk, sitting, and if Alex finds it odd he doesn’t say, only turns and beckons to Logan, who tries to ignore him. Alex glares at him, until finally Logan snarls something under his breath and stomps into the office, pushing past the brothers.

When they’re all settled, Hank and Alex stare at each other. “Where’s Charles?”

“He said Paris, but Erik left us a message. He found him, brought him back with him. He retired.”

“So he really has turned over a new leaf. Huh.” Alex sinks further into his chair, quiet as memories nearly overwhelm him. He shakes his head. “I saw you guys took care of Apocalypse. I’m glad you figured it out.”

“It would have been easier with you there,” Hank says quietly, and the smile slips from Alex’s face. “How, Alex? How are you here, standing in front of me, when for ten years we thought you were dead?”

“My mutation saved me, we think,” Alex finally responds, nodding to Logan. “This guy over here dug me out of the rubble, half-dead from being neck deep in the ruins, but the explosion itself didn’t hurt me. He was half-feral at the time, I was unconscious, but he had dredged up enough of his humanity to save me.”

“Why were you there, Logan?” Hank asks. “Jean broke you out, but she said you were more animal than man at the time.”

Logan seems to tense at her name, licks his lips and chooses his words carefully. “She did. Brought me back, figured enough out to realize she could help me. By the time I found this place, she was gone and there were only ashes. Almost missed him, but I caught the scent and found him.”

“But if he saved you, where have you been for ten years?” Scott asks, and Alex sighs.

“Logan found a doctor up in Canada, not too far away from the border. He only remembered bits and pieces of his past life, but he knew there was a chance I was in danger, and that I needed help. The doc patched me up, but when I woke up I had amnesia. I didn’t – I didn’t remember anything for years, besides my first name.

“Until. Until three weeks ago, when Jean Grey appeared on television, and you were right there next to her. And Hank, and Raven, and suddenly – I knew who you were. I knew you were my brother. I knew Hank, and Raven, and Charles, but it took days for me to remember most of it. When I finally did, the rest of the time was me convincing Logan to come with me.”

Scott feels sick. Ten years his brother had been living without his memories. Was that even possible?

“Hey,” Alex says, jostling Scott’s shoulder. “It wasn’t bad. Sure, we were both amnesiacs who could barely remember our own names, and Logan overall is a pretty bad roommate, but life wasn’t bad. I had a roof over my head, stayed out of trouble, ate every day. It was peaceful. I was okay.”

Scott swallows, but nods at the expression on his brother’s face.

“Um – “ Peter coughs, and Alex glances towards him. “Hi. You probably don’t know me – don’t think we ever met – but, um, I’m the reason we didn’t pull you out? Like, I can run really fast, and I pulled everyone else out and saved them, but I didn’t know you were down there? And then it was too late? Anyways, I’m really, really sorry, dude.”

Alex stares at him for a second. “That’s – that’s okay, man, you didn’t know. I’m just glad you got everyone else out.”

“Right. Um. Now that’s done, I think I’m gonna leave. See ya.” He hurries out the door – at normal speed – and leaves the four of them.

“If Logan found you here, why did he never bring you back?” Hank asks. “We could have helped you, Alex, for all that you wouldn’t have been able to remember that.”

“He didn’t know why I was here. Didn’t even truly know the purpose of the mansion. For all he knew, I was a prisoner. He offered, once. But without knowing everything, I decided it was better to stay away.” Alex shrugs. “We didn’t get a lot of TV up there. It was hard to piece stuff together.”

“A lot has happened in ten years,” Hank says quietly. His eyes flick towards the picture on his desk, and Scott swallows as he thinks about the people they had lost so recently.

“I’m so sorry, Hank,” Alex says, sincere in a way Scott has rarely seen him before. “I heard about Raven. I wish I had been here.”

Hank is pale, but he gives a shaky smile. “Thanks, Alex. She missed you, you know. She was so upset when she learned about your . . . death. I just wish she was here to see you alive and with us again.”

“And Scott, I didn’t know Jean well, but I know you did. Her death must be ripping you apart.” Alex reaches out, placing his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I’m back now. If you need to talk . . .”

Scott closes his eyes, emotions whirling through him faster than he can comprehend them. Grief? Joy? Exhaustion weighs him down. He hadn’t been sleeping well in a bed used to two bodies, reaching out for a girl that would never come back.

“Maybe later. I think . . . I think I need some rest. Got a headache.” He stands abruptly. “Alex, I will see you later, right? For dinner?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Alex says, watching him closely. Scott avoids looking him in the eye – even with the glasses, Alex can read him all too well. He needs time to process.

“Logan, are you staying?”

Logan grunts. “Guess so.”

“I’ll show you your room, then. Alex, yours is still there if you want it.” Scott waits until Logan is following, then leads the way out of the room before anyone can protest.

Logan is silent for all of three steps before, “There a reason you’re avoiding the brother you’ve been missing for ten years?”

“I don’t think that’s any of your business.”

Logan reaches into his pocket for a cigar, but Scott glares at him until he puts it back with a scowl. “You don’t have forever, kid. Just remember that.”

Scott leaves him at his room, then goes to his own and lays on the couch, staring up at the ceiling.

///

“A lot happened, Alex.” Hank leans back in his chair, sighing. “To your brother, especially.”

Alex turns from where he was staring at the door after his brother and shakes his head. “I know it’s been a while, but . . .”

“When we fought Apocalypse, we brought them. We brought high schoolers to fight a god, and even now I still have nightmares about that battle. I can’t imagine what they thought during and after – they could have died, Alex.” Hank leans his head back. “Scott had already lost you. Jean was the only thing holding him together afterward. Graduated together, went to college together – they had been dating for nearly ten years.”

“You’re kidding,” Alex says reflexively, but he knows Hank isn’t. Not about this.

“They were it for each other. They had plans to  _ get married.  _ Not now, not soon, but they knew they would. Jean had it all planned. Losing you was bad but losing her was like losing his other half.”

“And it’s only been a couple of weeks,” Alex finishes. “And then I come back from the dead. Poor kid probably doesn’t know what he’s feeling, huh?”

Hank shakes his head. “He held out hope you were still alive for a week after the battle. When we started cleanup, we didn’t find your body. He thought maybe you would come back, and when you didn’t it was hard for him to accept you were gone. Now you’re back, but she isn’t.”

Alex sighs. “God, why have our lives always been so  _ goddamn complicated?” _

Hank doesn’t respond, and they sit in silence for a moment as Alex wades through his own thoughts, pushing anger down – anger at himself, the world – and chooses his next question carefully. “So, you’re headmaster now, huh?”

“Charles thought it best to step away after – after Jean.” Hank pauses to think. “For years, he wasn’t acting like himself. He made decisions and refused to see they weren’t right. I saw it all, did my best, but even I missed some things and . . . part of me wonders if I had been more observant, if we could have helped Jean earlier on, if any of this would have happened.

“Anyways, Erik was given some land by the government – “

“I’m sorry, what? The  _ U.S government?” _

“Surprisingly, yes. He started a colony for mutants, completely peaceful, and he’s been living there for years. Charles joined him, according to Erik’s message, found himself a place within it. We parted on rocky terms, but Erik seems to have truly changed. I think he’s the only one who could truly help Charles, now that – now that Raven is gone.”

Alex flinches at the thought of Raven. She was like the sister he never had, she and Angel, and Angel had been gone for years but Raven had always been there even when she wasn't. She always came back. Now she never would. 

Alex is exhausted - the last few weeks had drained him, and the trip itself was long. He wants nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep for as long as he's allowed. He doesn't want to think about the people they've lost. 

But he also wants to see Scott, and talk with Hank, and learn the events of the past ten years. 

And Hank doesn't look interested in letting him leave, hungrily taking in every detail of Alex's face. Like if he leaves Hanks sight, he'll be lost to him forever. 

"I thought -" Hanks voice cracks, and he clears his throat. "I thought I was the only one left." His voice is thick, holding back tears, and Alex feels years of heartbreak well back up to the surface. 

He hadn't let himself think about that first family he had found, and how they had all been lost to him over the years. Darwin, Angel, Sean. Raven and Erik. 

For years, it had been Hank alone, even as Alex and Raven and Erik all lived elsewhere. Hank, alone even with the professor, a man lost to his grief and drowning in booze. 

Raven had come back - evident by the news that showed her death, wearing yellow in her natural form. Hank had always felt her absence the hardest of the kids - and they're no longer kids, are they? Decades older and yet he feels no wiser - but then he had lost her in the worst way and then for weeks he was alone. Surrounded by students, the X-Men, but alone with his grief. 

"I'm so sorry, Hank," he says, soft, sincere in a way he so rarely is. "If I had remembered sooner . . ."

"It's not your fault," Hank says. His laugh is wet with tears, only just starting to fall. "I could never blame you."

If I had been here, Alex thinks, maybe I could have changed something. Maybe I could have saved her. He doesn't say it, knows it won't make a difference, and instead, he stands and walls around the desk. He grabs Hank’s arm, and drags him up, hugging him tightly. He doesn't mention it when Hank starts shuddering, shoulders heaving with quiet sobs, and doesn't complain when his shirt becomes dark with tears. 

It's the least he can do for this man who he has come to respect, admire, and even love over the years since Cuba. 

///

It takes very little time for him to settle in again. Alex finds his old room, rebuilt but unused, and falls into bed to sleep for hours. Hank retrieves him for dinner, served in the kitchen. The students had gone home for the break, and the few that remained had been taken out for the day by a few of the teachers. This leaves only the X-Men and a few others for dinner, allowing the use of the smaller table in the kitchen. 

Logan is absent, but Scott is there, sitting between Peter and Ororo, eyes cast down towards his dinner. Alex sits across from him, next to Hank, with Kurt on Hank’s other side. Kurt and Ororo are not visibly bothered by Alex’s appearance at the dinner table, but Peter at least is still a little unnerved. Scott smiles at Alex, subdued in everything except for the relief he can't hold back at seeing his brother. 

Dinner is slightly awkward, as Alex regains his footing. For years it had just been him and Logan, eating at odd hours and often separately as they worked whatever hours they could get to stay afloat. 

But they manage. Alex is on his best behavior, and Hank facilities conversation between the two sides of the table, and before long they're all laughing and enjoying the dinner. There are moments, in between the levity, when one of them remembers an absent face and falls silent, staring at the seat they would have sat in. 

But Alex feels like he belongs among them. 

He just needs to drag Logan out of his room to socialize a bit more, and everything would be fine. 

///

Charles and Erik arrive three days later, showing up at the door and knocking like Charles doesn't still own the place. Alex answers, the closest to it, and Charles' face softens when he sees Alex. 

"Oh, Alex," he murmurs. "I am so sorry I didn't realize." 

"It's okay, Prof," Alex says to distract from the lump in his throat at seeing them again. "I'm sorry you lost your hair." 

Charles looks startled, then barks out a laugh. "You haven't changed a bit."

"But you have." He glances between Charles and Erik, standing a little behind the professor, and feels something in him relax. "You look happier than I've seen you in a while." 

I'm glad you figured it out, he thinks, and if Charles face is any indication, he picked up on it easily. 

"Erik," Alex says. "Been a while." 

Erik inclines his head, but there's a sadness in his face that even Charles can't erase. He has lost just as much - and even more - than Alex ever has. It's something he probably won't ever get over. 

Alex waves them in, and Charles heads for Hank’s office. Erik hesitates, but Alex only stares at him until he begins to follow. 

Charles peppers him with questions - what he's been doing, where he's been - and Erik is quiet as Alex answers them honestly. (A shithole somewhere in Canada. Anything that would hire him, until they found out he was a mutant.)

"And Hank said Logan is the one who found you?" 

"Yep. Sour bastard most of the time, but whatever - " He coughs, fighting a smile. "Whatever Jean did to free him knocked loose his humanity. He's a real sweetheart underneath it all."

Erik's face is pinched, Charles looks like he's about to laugh, and Logan - who he had heard, walking down the hall in search of a beer - smacks him on the back hard enough to nearly knock him off his feet. 

"Shut it," he grumbles as he passes, and Alex laughs. 

"I'll get you to admit you care one day!" he calls after him, and Logan gives him the finger without looking over his shoulder. 

"Anyways. He kept me alive, and I forced him to learn some manners. It was a beneficial relationship." 

Hank hears them coming and opens the door with a smile. "Long time no see," he says, gesturing for them to sit. 

Classes had begun today, so students had arrived yesterday to settle in. They were mostly going through introductory information, both teachers and students getting back into the swing of things. (And some, like Scott, getting used to being at the front of the classroom and not in a seat.)

Hank’s classes were early in the morning - which is cruel, if you ask Alex, to make students do science and philosophy first thing in the morning, but he's never been a morning person, even as science was one of his favorite subjects. The rest of his days were full with administration stuff, meetings and phone calls and other boring things. 

As such, he has a few minutes to spare to visit with Erik and Charles. 

They speak civilly, calmly; talking about Genosha, the school, and avoiding anything that could be triggering. 

Alex throws in some stories about his life with Logan, but mostly stays silent, taking in everything he can about this moment. Being with Erik and Charles, the men who saved him from himself, taught him to use his mutation to help rather than hurt. Charles, who brought his little brother back into his life. 

Hank. The man who had always given everything he had for their patchwork family, since the beginning. 

Alex still loves him, even all these years later. 

///

Logan, Scott learns, doesn't do much besides sulk and drink and smoke. 

Alex seems to be the only person who can tolerate his moods, and whom Logan can tolerate in turns. Alex teases and prods and Logan either grunts or gives it back in kind. 

Scott starts spending time with Alex again in the evenings, after his classes and before he settles in to grade and prepare for the next day of classes. It's precious time, something he never would have thought of back in high school, but he treasures those moments now. He understands more than ever how short life can be. 

They reminisce. Scott shares anecdotes from the past ten years, stories about Kurt and Ororo and Peter and even Raven. He mentions Jean rarely, and when he does it's with a sad, but love-filled tone. Alex tells him about the early days of the X-Men, stories that Scott knows but from a different point of view. He gives up more from his time with Logan, stories of jobs he had held and people he had met. 

Every time Alex speaks about Logan, there's a fondness to his tone Scott has rarely heard before. Alex is fond of very few people - mostly he tolerates them. But Logan seems to have figured out how to break through Alex's walls, even if they weren't as strong because he didn't remember his own trauma.

Scott wonders if there's something deeper to their relationship, but pushes the thought aside. He doesn't really want to know if there is. 

Scott tends to find Logan in the oddest places, all in a bid for the older man to hide from curious students and teachers. On the days he can't go outside, Scott has found him in unused classrooms, closets, the kitchen, anywhere there isn't students. As long as he isn't smoking, Scott normally leaves him be, grabbing whatever he came for and exiting the room quietly. He's curious himself, but not enough to risk the man's wrath. Even being Alex's brother probably wouldn't save him. 

Jean probably wouldn't have cared, would have gone right up to Logan and started asking him whatever she thought of. 

He does that a lot, nowadays. Think about what Jean would do in his position. 

He's not sure if it helps or makes the pain worse. 

///

Alex notices Hank watching closely whenever Alex is with Logan. 

Which. Isn't necessarily odd? If he didn't know Logan as well as he did, he probably wouldn't trust the man either, but he's starting to notice it only happens when Alex is also there. 

Once upon a time, Alex and Hank had been together. Lonely in the years that they were with Charles, after the original school failed and before Vietnam, they had fallen into bed together as a way to cope. It turned into a real relationship, something that neither had ever had before, but when Alex made the decision to go to Vietnam, to leave the mansion instead of letting Hank erase the records, he knew it was likely the end of them.

Hank had been furious at the time. Frustrated because Alex couldn't explain why he needed to get out, why he felt he needed to fight for a government that would rather him be dead. He didn't know how to get the words out, the words that said _ of course I love you but I can't stay in a mansion too big for three people, but just big enough for the ghosts of the past, with a man half drunk ninety percent of the time. I can't stay here and you won't leave so what do we do? _

Even when he came home, when Charles finally sobered up and opened the school again, and they finally sorted out their thoughts it was never with the same ease of before. They had drifted apart even before Apocalypse, as each took on more responsibilities, and then Scott finally arrived and anything that still been there had been squashed with the lack of time. 

Alex wonders if Hank regrets this as much as he does, or if he had found peace with Raven in the years he was gone. 

And now Raven’s the one gone, and Hank’s headmaster, and Alex. Alex doesn't know what to do. 

Scott doesn't need him. He can't teach for shit. Logan scares half the kids, but he has nowhere else to go. He’ll follow Alex for lack of anywhere better to go. 

Maybe he'll leave and follow the professor. Genosha doesn't sound like a terrible place. And Logan still struggles with his memories, and maybe Charles could help him? 

He sticks a pin in the thought for now and continues with his day. He can figure out what to do later.

///

Scott knows there's stuff Alex doesn't tell him, things that happened to him in his past that he keeps to himself to protect the people around him. Scott doesn't begrudge him this; he has his own things that he keeps from Alex. 

But there's something that's actually bothering Alex right now, and Scott can't figure it out and Alex won't tell him, just skirts around the issue. He doesn't dare ask Logan, and Hank always looks like he's just bitten into a lemon when Scott tried to broach the subject with him. 

What else is he to do than go snooping around for the answer? 

He knows it has something to do with Hank. He knows Logan is involved as well. 

But how do these two facts connect to his brother?

He's in the library, at a quiet table set in the corner that most ignore. He has assignments in front of him, pen in hand to grade, but he hasn't moved for a while, mind whirling through possibilities. 

He knows, before Apocalypse, there was a time when Logan - another Logan, one from the future - was at the mansion, and helped them with Trask. Did something happen between Hank and Logan, something that this Logan doesn't know but Hank can't forget? 

But Alex was in Vietnam for most of that time, wasn't he? So that can't be it. 

"Whatcha up to?" Peter says, suddenly sitting in the chair across from him, and Scott nearly throws his pen at him before he stops himself. 

"Dude, you can't do that," Scott snaps. 

Peter only raises an eyebrow. "It's, like, literally in my job description to be active," he counters. "And that doesn't answer my question. You haven't moved in, like, ten minutes."

Scott keeps his mouth shut. Peter’s eyes narrow. "Is this about the weird tension between your brother and Hank and Logan?" 

His silence says it all. "Dude, it's not that hard to figure it out. Do you really not know?" 

Scott frowns at him. "How do you know what's going on between them?"

"It's so obvious. Beast wants to bang your brother, but Logan already is."

" _ What _ ?"

Scott doesn't think he's ever been so horrified in his life. Alex? And Logan? 

Some students turn to glare at him at his outburst, and he sheepishly smiles at them. 

"Yeah, man. Just look at them." Peter leans back in his chair, nearly tipping it until he rights himself. 

Scott feels completely disoriented. Peter is a close friend of his now, but his blunt honesty can still be too much for him. "Let's talk about something else. Maybe, if you're ever going to tell your dad he's your dad?" 

"Hey!" 

Scott grins as Peter allows the subject to be changed, relaxing a little. 

He is not so relaxed when he finally finds Alex, slumped in front of the TV half asleep with a beer in his hand. 

"Hey, kid," Alex mumbles, raising a hand in a half wave. 

Scott sinks down onto the couch next to him. "I have a question."

"You can ask me anything."

"Are you fucking Logan?" 

Alex chokes on his beer, spitting it out onto his jeans and then coughing to clear his throat. "What the fuck, Scott?" 

"It's a valid question, Alex. Are you?"

"No! He's like, that weird drunk uncle that you would rather avoid at Christmas. Also from what we can figure he's like, over a hundred years old. What even put that idea in your head?" 

"It's just that the three of you are acting weird? Hank’s always staring and you won't answer questions about it so I just . . . made assumptions?" He is absolutely going to kill Peter. 

Alex sighs, wrinkling his nose as he touches the beer stain on his thighs. "A long time ago, Hank and I were . . . a thing. And then I went to Vietnam and we never officially ended it but we weren't really together anymore? And by the time you showed up we barely even talked and then I was gone and Raven was here. And Raven always had a thing for Hank, you know? So I don't blame him for going out with her instead, they would have been good together, but now she's dead and I'm back and I just . . . don't know what to do."

"You never got over him, did you?" Scott's voice is quiet. He feels like he needs a drink of his own - he doesn't even want to talk about his own love life, let alone his apparently disastrous older brother’s - but he doesn't want to get up. 

Alex snorts. "Of course not. I just can't communicate for shit, and he's awkward enough around people that I couldn't put him through that when I couldn't get the words right. And the next thing I knew, years had passed and we had gotten older and were even busier, and then you were back in my life. There was the school, and missions, and the government and there just never seemed to be enough time."

"He wasn't dating Raven," Scott says. "At least, not really. They tried once but decided they were better off as friends. As far as I know, he's never dated anyone seriously." 

Alex gapes at him. "You're serious? You're not just telling me this to make me feel better?" 

"When have I ever done that? I'm serious, Alex. Maybe you should talk to him." 

"Yeah." Alex looks dazed, handing Scott his beer. "Maybe I should." He stands to leave. 

"Change your pants first!" Scott yells after him, and sees him abruptly turn in the opposite direction, towards his room.

Scott sighs, shakes his head. He hefts the bottle, looks at the amber liquid that still fills half of it. It's almost warm now, but he'll finish it. Better that than leave it for a student to find or waste it. 

///

Hank is in his room, grading papers when Alex finally arrives. Alex knocks but doesn't wait for Hank to answer, just barges in to a startled Hank, sitting up in bed surrounded by papers. 

"Alex?"

"You didn't date Raven," he says, breathless. He absently closes the door behind him, remembering other people live in the mansion now. 

"No? She was like a sister to me in the end," Hank responds, frowning. "What -"

"I'm not fucking Logan," Alex adds, taking a step closer. Hank flushes, clicking his own nervously. 

"T-that's good?"

Alex takes another step, knees against the mattress. "I have a confession to make," he says. "I'm not over you."

"O-oh? R-really?" Hank’s beet red now. Alex lifts a knee to the bed, shifting his weight, and pushes some papers to the floor. Hank squawks, and quickly gathers up the remaining papers to push to the nightstand as Alex shuffles closer. 

Then they're staring at each other. "Tell me you don't want this, and I'll leave," Alex says quietly, and Hank says nothing, only watching as Alex studies him. 

Alex grins, then, and swings a leg over Hanks lap so he's straddling him. He leans in, slow enough to let Hank push him away if he desired, but Hank pulls him closer instead, slotting their mouths together as easily as they had done all those years ago. Alex sighs into the kiss, shoulders relaxing, and feels Hanks hands settle on his waist, pulling him closer. 

They pull apart finally, leaning against each other. "Ever since I left, I felt like I was missing something. I thought it was just homesickness, but now that I know what life is like without knowing you . . . I know what it was. I was missing you." Alex shudders, breath catching. Hank smoothes a hand down his back. "I can't go through the rest of my life without you, Hank. I can't do it."

"You don't have to," Hank whispers. "I'm here, and I'm not leaving. Not until you tell me to." 

"That'll never happen," Alex says, relief spreading through him. 

They fall asleep in Hanks bed, legs tangled together, and it's the best sleep either one has had in years. 

///

Scott absolutely refuses to look anyone in the eyes the next morning. Except for Peter. Peter, he grabs the arm of and drags into an unused classroom, and immediately tears into him. "I can't believe you told me Logan was fucking my brother!" he hisses. Peter blinks. 

"Are they not?" 

"No! God, I'm gonna have to bleach my brain to get that image out of my head!"

"Huh." Peter shrugs. "Well, I tried. Never said I was right."

"No, you said it was obvious! That's worse!"

"Sorry, then. I'm just gonna take my - wait. Wait, did you tell anyone else?" Peter’s eyes are wide. 

"Yeah,  _ Alex. _ "

"Oh. Oh, no. If he tells Logan, it'll get back to me and then . . ." Peters eyes flash with memories. Fear. "You know what? I think it might be time. To, you know, talk to Erik." 

Before Scott can stop him, Peter’s zipped out of the room, and he groans. "I hate you, Peter!" he yells, and he hears Peter laugh as he runs past him on the way back from his room, heading for the door. 

"Why did I find a note on my desk saying Peter has gone to Genosha?" Hank asks that night at dinner, sitting next to Alex. Whatever had been bothering his brother seems to have been forgotten judging by how happy he looks. 

Scott, however, can only groan helplessly. Ororo glances at him but says nothing. "He's stupid, that's why," he mutters. Alex arches a brow. 

"Is he the one -" 

"Nope! Not talking about that! Definitely not!" Scott yelps as he spots Logan around the corner, heading outside. 

Alex bursts out laughing, causing Hank to glance at him sharply, confusion pinching the skin around his eyes. And despite the situation, Scott can’t help but smile watching his brother be so happy. He wishes Jean was here, sitting beside him with the rest of their family. 

This is the first time he’s looked at her seat and not felt crippled by the loss of her. The pain won’t vanish completely, but he’ll heal in time, just like he did when he thought Alex had died. And she would want him to be happy, and being with his family makes him so. He can live life without her as long as they’re with him. 

He’ll be okay. 

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone wants a sequel, let me know by leaving a comment, and if you liked this keep an eye out for more X-Men from me in the future. I have a lot of ideas primarily involving Disney movies, so I'll see where those go but at least two of them will probably end up published eventually.


End file.
